Local restaurant owner receives U.S. Citizenship
STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Immigration is in the news a lot lately.
We’ve seen round-ups and mass deportations, but many immigrants are still working through the process to achieve their dreams of citizenship.
Isabel Vanegas, co-owner of The Taco Amigo, reached that goal last month.
Isabel was just 15-years-old when she moved to America from Oaxaca, Mexico.
21 years later, she can now call herself a U.S. Citizen.
“That’s new chapter for me, a new beginning. I’m so happy to become a citizen because here in America, there’s a lot of opportunities to live life better,” said Isabel.
She said she moved to Columbus to join her two Aunts and help her family back home.
After a decade long process, she finally got her citizenship last month in Memphis.
“I studied a lot for my exam, and then I got it, I passed my first test,” said Isabel.
Something else happened after she moved to Columbus.
She met her husband, Randy Vanegas.
It was with his help that she applied for permanent residency.
However, they said the journey to citizenship did come with some challenges.
“It’s a lot (of) lawyers and lawyers, time, money,” said Isabel.
“It was a lot of sending paperwork, waiting for paperwork to come back, and then, if they needed more evidence … more paper work,” said Randy.
While they were waiting, they opened a Mexican food truck in Columbus in November 2019.
At first, she was just making food for different events, churches, and companies.
“It was just supposed to be a weekend thing when we bought the truck. Well, when it came about, we went full blown. I was working in the day driving the truck, and at night, I was making tacos,” said Randy.
They opened a second food truck a couple years later, and in June, they opened a restaurant in Starkville.
She said they originally opened a food truck to bring something different to Columbus.
“We grew a lot, and we’re so happy to continue doing this,” said Isabel.
Isabel says she is grateful to live the American Dream and no longer live in fear.
“Now I have my right to speak, life and liberty. I learned a lot from becoming a citizen. Now, I don’t have to be afraid of anything from Immigration,” said Isabel.
Isabel and Randy have one daughter, who is now in college.
Isabel said she enjoys helping people learn how to open a food truck.
